Santa Barbara, Calif. -
A strong first quarter by the 3rd-ranked Stanford Cardinal put the 11th-ranked UC Santa Barbara women's water polo team behind the eight-ball early as it ultimately lost the match 8-5. Despite outscoring the visiting Cardinal 5-4 over the final three quarters, the early deficit was too big and Gauchos fell to 2-4 overall, and 0-2 in the MPSF on the young season. The win improved Stanford to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the MPSF.

The Cardinal jumped out to a 4-0 lead by the end of the first quarter off of a pair of goals from junior Katie Hansen, and a goal a piece from freshman Lauren Silver and senior Scotti Shafer. UCSB goalie Rosey Redaelli made three saves in the first quarter, but she was matched by Stanford's Meridith McColl with three of her own in the first stanza.

Both sides found the net twice in the second quarter, bumping the score to 6-2 at the half. Gaucho freshman Amanda Tipton put the Gauchos on the board with 6:33 remaining in the second quarter to move the match to 4-1 Cardinal. Silver found the netting two more times to increase to give Stanford its biggest lead of the match at 6-1. UCSB's Sarah Kovach closed the deficit back to four late in the half at 6-2.

Stanford retained its four-point lead into halftime thanks to the play of McColl in the net for the Cardinal with five saves in the second quarter, the Gauchos' Redaelli was not credited with a single save in the second quarter.

UCSB and Stanford matched each other 1-for-1 in the third quarter with goals from Tipton and Cardinal senior Laurel Champion. But once again it was McColl who proved to be the deciding factor, posting five saves for the second consecutive quarter, compared to Redaelli's three in the third.

With the score 7-3 Cardinal entering the final quarter, UCSB outscored its opponents 2-1 with a pair of goals from junior Allie Carkin. Hansen netted her third goal of the match for Stanford's lone score in the quarter to give the match its final 8-5 score. Redaelli made one save in the fourth to finish the contest with seven, and McColl added two to end the match with 15.

The Gauchos return to the pool tomorrow to take on San Jose State in an MPSF match at 12:00 p.m. in Campus Pool.